Welcome!

Welcome to my blog about hockey - mainly about the Buffalo Sabres. Here you'll find my thoughts and opinions about the game of hockey. There will be times where I'll stray off-topic and I'll post about other things that I feel the need to blog about, but for the most part this is my blog for hockey. I hope you enjoy reading!

Who am I?

Hi! My name is Caroline. I'm a recent college grad (Public Communication) from Buffalo, NY. I enjoy traveling, hockey, photography, bike rides, theatre, movies, music, and just spending time with my family and friends. And the occasional blogging of course.

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Contact

If you'd like to contact me with questions, comments, grievances, or just to say hi...feel free to e-mail me athnib30 [at] gmail [dot] com

Disclaimer, Credentials, and all that fun stuff.

I am in no way affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres or the NHL. I am simply a fan and this blog should not be used as an accredited news source. Please take whatever I say with a grain of salt. Most of the images that I use are either from Sabres.com, NHL.com, or GettyImages.com. If I happen to post an image that is yours and you would like credit, please e-mail me at hnib30 [at] gmail [dot] com and I will gladly credit you or remove the image at your request.

The photo used for the Hockey Night in Buffalo banner was taken by Mike Lynaugh.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Puck Drop, New Joiseys, and Catwalk

This past Saturday I attended Puck Drop along with 3,500 other Sabres fans. It's a nice way to bring in the new season and to tell fans that hockey is right around the corner. I got there a little late, right around the time when Rick Jeanneret was announcing the team on the ice and the players were coming out wearing the new jerseys.

I think the new jerseys are sharp! I'm sure most of us saw the leaked cell phone pictures of them, but when you see them up close and in person, obviously you appreciate them much more. I love the colors of the third jersey, and the homage to the Buffalo Bisons with the "Buffalo" script on the front. The one thing I'm not crazy about is the gold name plate. But I love the pants with the gold vertical stripe that the players wear with the thirds.

Not crazy about the gold name plate...but everything else is nice. A lot of people aren't crazy about the stitching on the numbers, but I think it looks neat.

My favorite of the two new jerseys is the white away one... I am definitely going to have to purchase one this season (A Miller one of course, who else?). The last time we saw the Sabres wear the white jerseys with the vintage logo was at the Ice Bowl a few years ago. I remember seeing the Winter Classic jerseys when they were first released and it reminded me how wonderful the old white jerseys were and I'm just glad that the Sabres are finally wearing them again. I know most people weren't crazy about the "slug", and I wasn't either...but after the first season I just got used to it. But I never got used to the road jerseys... Honestly I hated them. I thought the yellow logo against the white was pretty ugly.

Muuuch better than the "slug" roads... I'm gonna have to invest in one of these babies.

After RJ announced the players and they skated a few laps around the ice to show of their new duds, the team was split up into two teams: Blue (Team Norty) and White (Team Seymour). Naturally I had to cheer for the White team because my main man was in net...but I left after the second period. Miller was already on the bench by that point but I think they were up 2-1. I think they eventually won in a shootout, according to Sabres Edge.

All in all it was a fun way to spend a Saturday and it's a fun, cheap (unless you forked over some cash to buy a jersey) way to celebrate the start of a new season. I think what I enjoyed the most out of the day was hearing Rick Jeanneret's voice announce the players, and the reception that each player received as they skated onto the ice (can you guess who got the loudest reception?). I also enjoyed the sounds of the game... Just sitting there listening to the sounds of the blades of the skates on the ice, the sounds of the puck hitting the stick after a pass, the sounds of the sticks banging on the ice, the sounds of the players hitting the boards, the sounds of the players shouting at each other on the ice... Just the sounds of hockey. That's when it really hit me that hockey is back.

Moving on from Puck Drop, yesterday I volunteered at a fundraiser that was held at Caz Park and at a bar called Charlie O'Brien's in South Buffalo where all of the proceeds went to The Steadfast Foundation. I thought it was pretty successful given it was the first year that it was held... I had a good time selling Steadfast merchandise despite the fact that I was watching the Bills get their asses handed to them at the same time. Just another Sunday in Buffalo...

Here's a picture of me from the fundraiser:

You can see all the other pictures from the event here. All photos were taken by my friend Kathryn Ross who works for Buffalo.com

I was told that the press conference for Catwalk for Charity this year is going to be held very soon. Like, next day soon probably. Soooo that's something to look forward to! If you're going, I hope you're actively thinking about what totally radical get up you'll be wearing to the event.

So with the season so close and Catwalk coming up, it's a very exciting time of the year for Sabres fans. I'm going to the preseason game against the Leafs this Saturday and I'm really excited! My friend is coming in from Cleveland for it and I'm real excited to see her as well. Should be a good time.